Convalescent serum lines up as first-choice treatment for coronavirus

Convalescent serum lines up as first-choice treatment for coronavirus

Convalescent serum treatment on the rise Treating people with the antibody-laden blood of those who have already survived an infection is a century-old approach to battling viruses. Evidence for its efficacy against COVID-19 is thin on the ground, but it has two big advantages over new treatments: it’s available now and it’s relatively safe, as long as the blood is screened. In the United States and the United Kingdom, major efforts have begun to spur plasma donations from survivors. And large pharma companies are joining forces to develop antibody products purified from the pooled plasma of donors, or produced in genetically modified cattle. Nature Biotechnology | 10 min readRead more: How blood from coronavirus survivors might save lives (Nature, from March)